Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 9.9.15

NOTES FROM THE HINTERLANDS 30 AMERICAN RURAL 30 DRAWING BOARD 31 Viewpoints
LETTERS
We Must All Support Rep. Zinke’s Forest Stewardship Program
There is no time to waste. We are way behind the eight ball. Right now there should be hundreds of trucks on our highways hauling a variety of wood products to their intended mar- kets, removing fuel from future fires, locking carbon into our homes and the other plethora of wood products that we all use every single day, and sick trees that are subject to serious insects and disease. All of us should get behind Rep. Ryan Zinke’s Forest Stewardship Program. Friend’s of the Bitterroot and Alliance for the Wild Rockies need to stand down – just get out of the way. If you don’t, you will pay a dear price in the court of public opinion.
I am a decorated veteran of the U.S. Forest Service, where I served as a pro- fessional forester and certified silvicul- turist from 1977 to 1991 in the big tree state of Oregon, Region 6, USFS. I am offering my services to Zinke. My hope is that other Forest Service veterans will come out of retirement and do the same.
I believe that the northern Rockies are in the early stages of a major insect and disease outbreak. The east face of the Bitterroot Mountains is in serious jeopardy. The tree stand conditions are ripe for a very scary spruce budworm outbreak. If it happens, we will all wake up some late spring day to a brown for- est, and people will literally freak out!
And just how do I have the right to make this prediction? My last big project in Oregon was to evaluate the impacts of a massive spruce budworm outbreak on 550,000 acres of the Ochoco National Forest, near the central Oregon town of Prineville, in 1990.
Chris A. Linkenhoker Corvallis
GOP Veering Off Base from Core Values
In the book Cannery Row John Steinbeck wrote: “It has always seemed strange to me, the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our sys- tem. And those traits we detest, sharp- ness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce
of the second.”
Though written in the 1940s, this
still has a ring of truth. Consider the current front-runner in the Republican presidential primary race. Most would agree he has been successful, if the accu- mulation of great wealth is the measure of success in our society. And he clearly embodies the qualities of greed, mean- ness, egotism and self-interest. So, why is he so popular?
Republicans claim to represent the majority of Christians, especially evan- gelicals. Apparently Republicans have now openly adopted these qualities, but when did Christians embrace greed, meanness, egotism and self-interest as core values?
Steve Gniadek Columbia Falls
Encourage Healthy School Meals
With the new school year just around the corner, parents’ attention is turning to school clothes, supplies, and lunches. Yes, school lunches! In past years, USDA had used our nation’s schools as a dump- ing ground for surplus meat and dairy commodities. Not surprisingly, one- third of children have become over- weight or obese. Their early dietary flaws become lifelong addictions, rais- ing their risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Gradually, the tide is turning. New guidelines mandated by President Obama’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, require doubling the servings of fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, less sodium and fat, and no meat for breakfast. A survey released last week shows the guidelines supported by 86 percent of Americans.
Sixty-four percent of U.S. school districts now offer vegetarian options. More than 120 schools, including the entire school districts of Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Kan- sas City, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phil- adelphia, and San Diego have imple- mented Meatless Monday. Some schools have dropped meat from their menu altogether. As parents, we need to work with school cafeteria managers and our own children to encourage the availabil- ity and consumption of healthy, plant- based school foods. Entering “vegetar- ian options in schools” provides lots of good resources.
Kerry Brack Kalispell
Interesting Year Ahead in Politics
I just ran across probably the best comment ever on what is motivating people to support Donald Trump in the primary. It comes from Jim Hightower, National Radio Commentator, writer and public speaker. Here is what he wrote in an article entitled: “The Money Primary.” This is good stuff.
“By using money to shove the vast majority of people out of the demo- cratic process, they’re (Republicans) mocking America’s essential egalitar- ian ideal that we’re all in this together, destroying their own moral legitimacy. and fueling an explosive fury among alienated voters.”
This makes so much sense in answer- ing the question being posed endlessly and being discussed among the media, the press, the ‘talking heads’ and the candidates themselves. And that sim- ple question with this straightforward answer from Hightower is: “Why is Trump, with all his outlandish com- ments, still gaining in the polls?”
Just think about your own conver- sations with people, regardless of party affiliation, and the general agreement is that our present political establishment and those we elect to make our laws, are held hostage to big money interests, huge corporate interests, lobbyists that won’t quit, greed, fear and anger.
Well, it looks like this anger com- ponent has spilled over into a people’s national movement to protest all this political garbage and advocate for full reform. And “The Donald,” with his vast wealth, is beholden to no one but himself and can’t be bought. He won’t be bought. And he pounds away with his appealing and often strange rheto- ric which erxcites an electorate that is totally fed up with things as they are.
Anyway, this is going to be a most interesting year ahead. Much to con- template. Many surprised to come. But regardless of all this, it is doubtful that the “Trump Style Message” will be silenced among “We The People.”
Bob McClellan Polson
CORRECTION
A letter in last week’s Beacon, “GOP Embracing Self-Interest as Core Val- ues” was incorrectly attributed to Steve Gniadek of Columbia Falls. The letter was written by David James of Eureka.
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
LETTERS
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